I started smoking when I was 16, and by the time I was around 20, was a pack-a-day smoker (which I pretty much remained at, on average, until I switched to e-cigs when I was 53 and quit smoking all together. My husband also smoked (and still does). I had tried to quit multiple times before that, but without success. The first serious attempt to quit was when I was pregnant with my second daughter. I attended a 6 week class where we kept a log of our smoking (to identify when and what was happening) so that we could identify triggers or routines, had a class ‘partner’, learned other methods for handling stress or breaking routines, etc. I don’t remember using a patch at that time – I do remember trying the nicotine gum, though, but I didn’t like it – I never was much of a gum chewer to begin with. It’s been a long time (28 years) so I don’t remember for how long (if even a few weeks) I was able to actually stop at that point – I just know that it wasn’t for very long. It was 15 years before my next serious attempt. In the interim, I was still smoking a pack a day, in the house with the children, in the car with the children, etc. I had spoken with my doctor this time, and he gave me a prescription for Wellbrutrin which I took along with using a nicotine patch. I think I lasted about a month, before I started buying a pack and smoking a few before throwing it out. Then I tried just limiting smoking to when I was out walking the dog or only after everyone else in the house had gone to bed. Needless to say, that didn’t work too well, and after about 6 months or so I was back up to a pack a day. Over the next 12 – 13 years, there were multiple times when I would decide to quit and would buy the nicotine lozenges. They did work better than the patch, but still didn’t seem to quite do the trick, and I had to work hard to make sure I didn’t use too many in a day, or use them too often. I would go for a few days without smoking, then would just have 1, and before I knew it, would be back to where I was before trying to quit. I also tried to do an online type program which had a book and a smartphone app with suggestions and I had a smartphone app for tracking how long I had not smoked along with the health benefits accrued. During this time smoking became not allowed in many public places and was being seen as less socially acceptable. I did stop smoking in my car, but we still smoked inside our house. During those years there were 2 times when I was away on a church related trip for a week at a time, and during those 2 one-week periods, I was able to use the lozenges and not smoke. But I was away from home, not around any one who was smoking and was away from my normal routines and stresses. In both instances, once I was back home I started up again. About 6 months before I was introduced to e-cigs, my workplace implemented a policy outlawing smoking anywhere on the premises, including in cars in the parking lots. So I decided to try to quit again, and attended a class through Kaiser and again got a prescription for Wellbrutrin and nicotine lozenges. I would go with not smoking for a few days, or for a work week, but then would succumb and smoke, then would start over again. I would get really frustrated with myself, and feel guilty when I smoked, and feel guilty about not having enough will power – pretty much just feeling like I was a failure. So when a co-worker mentioned that she had a friend who switched to e-cigs and was able to stop smoking, and explained to me what they were, how they worked and the benefits of them, I was interested (and ready). It was very fortunate that we have a very good brick-and-mortar e-cig shop in our town. She gave me the address and I went in on my next pay day. The staff at the store were very knowledgeable. They suggested an eGo kit – over the cigarette look-alikes – and they let me try out some different e-liquids so that I could find a taste I liked. I bought the eGo starter kit, some cartomizers and some e-liquids. I didn’t stop smoking immediately, but did go from a pack a day to just 2 or 3 packs a week, and after about a month, to about a pack a week. During this time I also found the ECF site and did a lot of reading there – not just in the new members forum, but also in the health and medical issues forums. After about 6 weeks, I stopped smoking altogether, even with my husband still smoking (although the only room he smokes in, in the house, is his hobby room in the back of the house). The information on ECF helped confirm for me that even if there are unknowns about long term effects of vaping, that it is much healthier and safer for me than continuing to smoke. It has now been 1 year and 4 1/2 months since I have had a cigarette. I am still using an eGo, with either cartomizers or a clearomizer. I did buy one mod (a REO) this past summer but I have had trouble getting used to it, so I went back to the eGo. When I first started vaping, the nicotine level in the e-liquid I was buying was 24. After 2 months I dropped down to 18, and several months after that, dropped down to 12 and then down to 6. Recently I have been occasionally trying 3 for the flavor that I use mostly in the clearomizers, but when things get stressful I do notice that I will still get anxious and irritable feeling, so I will go back up to 6 for awhile. That also lets me know that if I wasn’t able to vape, that I would be likely to go back to smoking. I went to my doctor for a check-up about a year ago, and told her that I had switched from smoking to using an e-cig. She told me congratulations and my medical record now lists me as a non-smoker. I feel that my health is better since I switched. I have less coughing and clearing of my throat. My sense of taste and smell have been returning. I don’t get as out of breath from exertion as I used to. I haven’t had any major colds with the severe coughing fits like I used to get. Non-smoking family members are glad that I have quit smoking and are supportive of my vaping instead. They have commented on how much less smoky our house is inside. I have also noticed that without the film from smoking building up on things inside the house, that items do not get as dusty as quickly as they used to. I have not experienced any negative effects – other than not liking a few of the flavors of e-liquid I have ordered from time to time. For me, it’s not just the nicotine, but it also was the act of smoking (now replaced by the act of vaping). I feel that as long as I can vape, that I will stay away from smoking. I feel very fortunate and grateful to have found a healthier alternative to smoking before experiencing any serious smoking-related health issues.